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Many students, upon seeing Sentence Correction questions for the first time, think of them as “grammar” questions. It’s true that correct answers often fix grammar mistakes, but you don’t need to know the names of grammar rules or of different verb conjugations. What is it that you’re being asked to do on Sentence Correction questions? These questions ask you to pick the answer that most clearly, correctly, or effectively gets across the idea of the sentence.
Sentence Correction questions cover a range of grammatical errors, some of which are so obscure that even good writers commit them. However, you don’t have to be a grammar expert to do well on this section. All you need is a mode of attack and some knowledge about what does—and does not—constitute good GMAT grammar. Most of this chapter focuses on these common errors and how you can identify the answer choice that the GMAT considers correct.
Another key element in GMAT Sentence Correction is style, or what the directions for this question type call “effectiveness of expression.” That means English that is clear and exact and without awkwardness, ambiguity, or redundancy. (Note that it doesn’t have to be interesting. In fact, the test is set up to see whether you get worn down by difficult, often boring prose or whether you rise above that to stay involved—and awake.)
Each Sentence Correction sentence will contain an underlined portion and ask you which of the choices best fits in place of that underlined portion. Choice (A) will always repeat exactly that underlined part of the sentence. So (A) is correct when there’s no error. Recognizing this pattern means that you never need to spend any time reading (A) once you’ve read the original sentence. Given the statistically random distribution of correct answers across the five choices, you can anticipate that (A)—the sentence is correct as written—will be correct approximately 20 percent of the time.
Spotting patterns in how the answer choices are presented is the bedrock of the Kaplan Method for Sentence Correction. As you scan through these answer choices, you’ll see that they split into groups based on the varying ways they handle the grammatical issues in the sentence. Two of the choices start with “has acquired” and three with “acquired.”
We will return to analyze this question fully once we’ve learned the Kaplan Method, but for now just know that we call this phenomenon a “split”—certain patterns in how the answer choices are constructed allow you to place them into groups, sometimes even eliminating two or three answer choices solely on the basis of this categorization. The differences that allow you to group choices most often occur at the beginnings of the choices, but not infrequently you’ll find useful differences at the ends of choices. If you become adept at vertically scanning choices for differences of grammar and usage, you may sometimes find key distinctions in the middle of choices. Most Sentence Correction questions have at least one 3-2 or 2-2-1 split. This strategic, pattern-oriented approach will allow you to narrow the choices down to the one correct answer with the confidence and speed of an expert.
Pattern Recognition and Attention to the Right Detail are the Core Competencies central to Sentence Correction questions. The typical Sentence Correction question contains two or more errors. The test makers reward you for being able to quickly spot and correct these problems that impair effective communication. Time is of the essence with these questions; the sentences vary in length and complexity, so you’ll have to move considerably faster on the short ones to leave time for the long ones. Knowing the main types of grammatical errors that show up repeatedly on Sentence Correction questions and being able to analyze the patterns in how the answer choices are presented will help you move through these questions efficiently and accurately.